Episode 11: The Thing About Steventon Rectory

Although it no longer exists, Steventon Rectory was the birthplace of Jane Austen and where she lived for the first 25 years of her life. This week we travel back to Steventon Rectory and learn more about this place that was so formative to Austen's development. And most importantly, we dig up some excellent Austen potato content. This biographical episode was the result of multiple listener requests — we love hearing from you!

Selected episode sources:

• Austen, Jane. Jane Austen’s Letters. Edited by Deirdre Le Faye. 4th ed. Oxford [England] ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

• Austen-Leigh, James Edward. A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections. Edited by Kathryn Sutherland. Reiss. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

• BBC News. “Unlocking Secrets from Jane Austen’s Steventon Home.” Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-20678244.

• Jane Austen Centre. “Jane Austen’s China and the Steventon Archaeological Dig.” Accessed January 28, 2022. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/jane-austen-life/jane-austens-china-and-the-steventon-archaeological-dig.

• Le Faye, Deirdre. Jane Austen’s Country Life: Uncovering the Rural Backdrop to Her Life, Her Letters and Her Novels. London: Frances Lincoln Publisher, 2014.

• Worsley, Lucy. Jane Austen at Home. First U.S. edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2017.